Jim MacKenzie, Octoraro Nursery

The Joint Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee, invites members of the General Assembly and the public to “Going Native,” a presentation on the many opportunities to use native plants in stream buffers, roadside plantings and other projects, at the next Environmental Issues Forum on June 12 in Harrisburg.

Jim MacKenzie, President and Operations Manager for Octoraro Native Plant Nursery in Kirkwood, Chester County, will be the speaker for the Forum, which begins at noon in Room 205 of the Ryan Office Building.

“The movement to restore stream buffers, forests, wetlands and floodplains to their natural functions in the last 10 years has increased demand for native plant materials to fulfill this need,” said MacKenzie. “At the same time we now have a better understanding of how invasive and exotic species like Purple Loosestrife and Japanese knotweed have destroyed productive habitats in Pennsylvania.”

“Yet, with all this growth and understanding, many watershed groups, local governments and even state agencies are not aware of the options they now have available to use native plants,” said MacKenzie. “Even homeowners can now use native plants for small projects like rain gardens that have environmental benefits.”

MacKenzie will describe initiatives in Pennsylvania and other states to promote the use of native plants for restoration of stream buffers, roadside highway and street planting projects and how native plants can contribute to carbon sequestration initiatives to combat global climate change.

Octoraro Nursery was founded in 1990 and specializes in raising container grown mid-Atlantic and Eastern regional native trees and shrubs.

In addition to being President of Octoraro Nursery, MacKenzie serves on the board of the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association and is a member of the Pennsylvania Native Plant Society, the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Professionals and serves as Vice-Chair of the Department of Environmental Protection’s State Water Planning Advisory Committee.

For more information on the Environmental Issues Forum contact the Joint Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee at 717-787-7570 or send email to: Craig D. Brooks, Executive Director, cbrooks@jcc.legis.state.pa.us .

Jim MacKenzie may be contacted at 717-529-3160 ext. 11, by sending email to: jim@octoraro.com or by visiting the Octoraro Native Plant Nursery website.

6/9/2006